U.S. will return to the moon within Trump’s term
Recently appointed NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told CNBC on Friday that the United States will return to the moon during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Isaacman, a close ally of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, told CNBC’s “Closing Time” that Trump’s determination to explore the moon is key to unlocking the “orbital economy.”
“We want to have the opportunity to explore and realize the scientific, economic and national security potential of the Moon,” he said.
Isaacman’s comments on Friday were some of his first public remarks since his confirmation to the post by the Senate last week, following a long saga that lasted through 2025.
Trump first nominated Isaacman to head NASA in December 2024, but the president abruptly withdrew the choice in May due to Isaacman’s “previous relationships.” Although Trump did not specify what these were, some suggested it had to do with Isaacman’s close ties to Musk, with whom Trump had a heated feud over the summer.
In November, Trump renominated Isaacman, an entrepreneur and civilian astronaut after commanding an orbital mission aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft in 2021.
Moon opportunities include establishing space data centers and infrastructure, as well as potentially extracting Helium-3, a rare gas buried in the lunar surface that could become an important fuel for fusion power, Isaacman said.
He added that after building a “lunar base,” NASA will look at investing in nuclear power and space nuclear propulsion for further research.
NASA currently owns SpaceX, Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin and Boeing’sto join Artemis campaignA lunar exploration program that also aims to prepare for Mars missions.
The campaign was launched after Trump’s Big Beautiful One Bill allocated $9.9 billion to NASA earlier this year.
The Artemis II mission, NASA’s first test flight with a Space Launch System rocket and crew aboard the Orion spacecraft, is expected to launch in the near future, Isaacman said.
Expedition to follow Artemis III’s missionSpaceX was contracted to build the lunar landing system.
SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing heavy-lift launch vehicles Cryogenic thruster transfer in orbit He added that it makes it easier to reuse.
“This is what will enable us to go to the Moon affordably, with great frequency, and prepare for missions to Mars and beyond,” Isaacman said. he said.
